Technique: Moon Phases

Phases of the Moon

This look was inspired by the phases of the moon. It was actually quite simple. The only difficult part was making my right hand’s “moons” look symmetrical to my left.

First step was the shinny color for the moon. I think a silver, gold or grey would look good for this. The color I used was China Glaze in “Swing Baby”. It’s a light gold with a pale pink tint to it. VERY pretty. I wore this one by itself for a day before I did my moon phases just because I liked the color so much. To the left is this base coat, 2 coats.

Next was taping. As always, nails have to be COMPLETELY dry before taping. I used French tip tapes for this look. On the left, starting with the pinky (1) I gradually tapped less to more of my nail. Nails 1, 2, and 3 I used the bottom of the arc as a guide. For nails 4 and 5 I wanted the moon to be mostly full, so I used the top of the arc as a guide. It was difficult because you have to think in negative space. Remember, you cover with the tape is what will be showing when your done.

I used a solid black paint for the shadow on the moons. This one is Beguiling Black by Maybelline express finish. I have a step by step of what the painting looks like below. Tape all nails on one hand first. Then paint and remove tape immediately one nail at a time.

And just as an afterthought I added a stripe of silver in between the moon and the shadow. Here is what it looks like below.

Mooooon Shadow Moon shadow =]

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